[Rail] Academy City OOC I : Biribiri.

What is Academy City anyway?

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So what is this game about? It’s about a place called Academy City, close to Tokyo, where some of the most amazing people science has discovered are sent once their unique gifts are discovered. And just who are these people? Pyschics, Espers, telepaths, pyrokinetists, telekinetic users, teleporters, and the list goes on and on, but no matter what they are called they are all one simple thing. A person capable of using psychic powers in some fashion or another, able to do extraordinary things once put through Academy City’s all-but unique psychic development programs. From things such as creating fireballs to manipulating luck itself, these people have demonstrated a wide array of capabilities after being gathered into the most advanced city on earth. The majority of espers (we’re talking 98-99% percent here) can barely be considered psychic before being ‘refined’ to the point they can manifest their abilities, but there are the rare few who manifest psychic abilities before being put through the program as well, almost literal gemstones of the world. These espers range from the almost powerless Level 0s to the awesome power possessed by the rare Level 5 espers.

But what about Academy City? Well, it’s a large city that is almost thirty years ahead of the rest of the world in terms of science and development, with numerous nations having a stake invested in the city’s unique residents. Almost sixty percent of the residents at Academy City’s schools, from the prestigious Azabu Academy and Tokiwaida Middle School to the more…’normal’ Onizuka Middle School…though how ‘normal’ any school can be when they are populated by a mix of psychics and normal people is up for debate. Though by far is it’s greatest asset is one of the satellites orbiting above, which continues the Tree Diagram program that can accurately predict the weather up to a month in advance, though those with the proper connections can ask it other things as well…Not that to say that everything is candy and sunshine in this sovereign city, there’s a darker underside to Academy City that most of it’s residents don’t even know about. Dangerous Skill Out gangs, those without powers who target espers for fun or rights, roam the streets and a person can disappear without a trace depending on where they stick their nose. Rumors of illegal research or weapons research are rampant, though Academy City is such a touchy place that such matters are never really investigated seriously by the Board of Directors in charge of Academy City.

This game is based on the setting of the To Aru no Kagaku Railgun (A Certain Scientific Railgun) light novels/anime/manga series. Watching/Reading the series is OPTIONAL, but they are rather good.

Okay, but how is it different from, say, Nexus?

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It differs in several important ways.
First, it is a lot more uniform that the Nexus. Academy City has espers and science, not, say, kitten snipers.
Second, the plot of Academy City is going to be more directed. There are the good, the bad, and the ugly, and they are mostly organized. As such, most plots and stuff will be interwoven into one big plot. Or at least that's the intention.
Third, Academy City is NOT in any way connected to the Nexus. i.e. you cannot have a character travel between the two. If you want a character in Academy City, it is for Academy City. You can have a version of the same character for both the Nexus and Academy City, but they are different characters.

How do I start?

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Well, you want to post a character in this thread, and the character registry when it goes up, so everyone can find information on your character and so people can give you helpful criticism on it.
To prevent a pattern that is all too easy to fall into, it's good to point out the fact that passive actions don't tend to get much attention.
With that in mind, make a post and begin!

Yes, there are.
Firstly, no godmodding (or godmoding). A far better explanation of godmodding than I can give is here.
Second, please remember that we plan to have a far more directed plot than Nexus. Please run any major spanners in the works past guys on this thread first.
Third, don't ruin anyone else's fun. I can't stress this enough.
Fourth, have fun!

New and Improved (but loose) Rules v.1.1!
These "rules" are more loose guidelines that serve another FFRPG very well so I adopted them into this one, because they work.

Consider asking to join in fights before jumping in.
Please respect that all plots might not be open. Alternatively, if you yourself want to keep a fight cordoned off from other participants, say so in the OOC, at the beginning of your post, or both.

TALK major fights over with your opponent!
This is to keep arguments about who's the better fighter, who should win, blablablablabla, out of the OOC. Of course, talk these things over in PM, or some kind of IM service. While arguments might break out over said PM/IM... It keeps it out of the OOC. Which is what we're trying to do here. On that note...

Don't argue in the OOC!
They make the atmosphere oppressive, they make things less fun, and generally unpleasant and maybe even make the arguments larger than they need be. So, if you have a problem with someone, try to talk it out in PM or IM before using the OOC.

These guidelines/loose rules might be viable to change or be added on to as issues come up, but the bases are covered pretty well.

Disclaimer #1: This game is going to have several moderators to mediate IC and OOC disputes (if they require them), but are not moderators in the GitP sense (Like Roland or the Giant). Aside from mediating disputes, they'll be keeping an eye on characters to watch for intentional/unintentional abuse. If they ask you to change something, it's a good idea to consider it. If they tell you it needs to be changed, then it does but this sort of thing is for important matters only. Disruptive players will be asked to leave if they insist on causing trouble.

Disclaimer #2: If you want to make a level five, make up a character and the community will decide if it shoud be or not.' That way we keep the number of level 5's down and everyone will agree on them. Remember that in canon, Academy City had only seven level fives, and a population of 1.8 million.